MARKET SNAPSHOT: U.S. Stocks: Futures Climb With DuPont, Verizon Earnings In Focus

By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch

Chinese stimulus continue to buoy markets

U.S. stock futures moved firmly higher on Tuesday, with investors zooming in on earnings from prominent companies, including Dow components DuPont, United Technologies and Verizon.

A rally in Asia also helped beef up U.S. stocks ahead of the open, in what was seen as continued optimism over China's move on Sunday to stimulate its economy by cutting the reserve ratio for banks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-cuts-banks-reserve-ratio-2015-04-19-94854558).

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (YMM5) gained 63 points, or 0.4%, to 18,007, while those S&P 500 index (ESM5) added 8.25 points, or 0.4%, to 2,099.75. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index (NQM5) climbed 19.75 points, or 0.5%, to 4,427.25.

"It looks as though we will get another day of lackluster fundamentals, however the [reserve requirement ratio] cut by the [People's Bank of China] is still pushing global equities sharply higher," said Nour Al-Hammoury, chief market strategist at ADS Securities, in a note. "The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones futures are both up as they still price in the news from China."

The benchmarks also put in solid performances on Monday (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) on the back of better-than-expected earnings and the stimulus news from China.

Earnings: More earnings on Tuesday could provide another boost to the markets, with a hefty lineup of results ahead of the bell.

DuPont & Co.(DD) reported a fall in first-quarter earnings, partly due to the impact from a stronger dollar (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dupont-forecasts-larger-forex-hit-as-sales-slip-2015-04-21). It also said that the strengthening greenback will dent its earnings for the full year more than it initially forecast in January. Shares were down 1.6% ahead of the bell.

United Technologies Corp.(UTX) climbed 1% after the company reported a 20% rise in first-quarter profit per share.

Verizon Communications Inc.(VZ) is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of 95 cents a share, according to a consensus survey by FactSet.

Baker Hughes Inc.(BHI) is likely to report first-quarter earnings of 45 cents a share.

After the bell, Yahoo Inc.(YHOO) is projected to report first-quarter earnings of 18 cents a share.

There were no major data releases or Federal Reserve speakers scheduled for Tuesday. The Fed is in its "blackout" period leading up to its policy meeting on April 28-29.

Movers and shakers: Shares of Gevo Inc.(GEVO) tanked 52% ahead of the bell after the chemicals firm late Monday announced a 1-for-15 reverse stock split.

International Business Machines Corp.(IBM) climbed 0.8% after reporting first-quarter earnings late Monday.

Other markets: Japanese and Chinese stocks closed firmly in positive territory, and Europe followed suit with solid gains in morning trade.

Greece's Athex Composite Index , however, bucked the positive trend and slumped 3.3% amid fears the country is running out of cash. The European Central Bank is now looking at measures to rein in support for Greek banks (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ecb-looking-at-reining-in-support-for-greek-banks-reports-2015-04-21) under its emergency liquidity assistance (ELA), according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.

Oil (CLK5) slipped 0.2% (http://www.marketwatch.com/storyno-meta-for-guid) with investors closely tracking oil-production levels in the U.S. and the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Metals were mostly rising, while the ICE dollar index (DXY) was little changed.

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